Category: Q&A

Some stuff doesn’t care how rough you are when you drop it in the bed.

Other gear can be more sensitive, and that’s when you want your truck to have a softer side.

The ACCESS™ Truck Bed Mat doesn’t just look nice. It helps you move gear in several ways.

First, a truck’s bed does an OK job of carrying stuff, but it’s not so nice for people who need to move around in the bed while loading, securing and unloading gear. Get down on your knees in your truck bed sometime and you’ll see what I mean — the metal just isn’t very nice to your joints.

A Truck Bed Mat, however, is very easy on the knees and makes it much easier to move around in the bed. It helps cushion your body when you’re in the bed, and it also cushions whatever cargo you carry.

Some gear wants to slide around in a stock truck bed. This can mean your cargo winds up skidding to the front of the box — often damaging the bed’s paint and giving rust a chance to take root.

This carpet, however, helps keep cargo in place by providing more grip for your gear. And even if your stuff still manages to slide around, the bed below is protected from damage by the thick mat.

Many bed liners are permanent, but the ACCESS™ Truck Bed Mat can be removed and reinstalled as needed. For normal hauling, just let it be. If you’ve got something particularly dirty to haul, like a load of gravel, you simply unsnap the carpet and take care of your dirty work. When you’re done with the messy jobs, just spray out the bed and snap the carpet back into place.

But don’t think you need to worry about this carpet getting dirty — it’s not like you have to take it to the dry cleaners any time it gets smudged. The mat is easily cleaned with a pressure washer or garden hose. It’s made to be durable and washable.

This mat is also made in an environmentally responsible manner. The ACCESS™ Truck Bed Mat is a marine-grade carpet made from recycled water and soda bottles. Each mat sold means a pile of bottles get kept out of a landfill.

The Truck Bed Mat is produced with a precise fit for many different truck bed sizes. Installing the mat for the first time is a straightforward process using drill-in or adhesive snaps — both options are included with each mat. The mat can be installed in a bare truck bed or on top of drop-in or spray-in bed liners, too.

When I installed my own Truck Bed Mat, I used the drill-in snaps. Here is a step-by-step video that shows that installation process:

Some truck owners may not be too thrilled about putting holes through their new truck bed. That’s why ACCESS offers adhesive snaps as well. This video shows how to install an ACCESS™ Truck Bed Mat with the adhesive snaps:

Whether using the drill-in snaps or adhesive snaps, take your time while measuring the mat’s location and deciding where to put the snaps. It’s hard to fix a hole drilled through the wrong spot in your bed, and the adhesive snaps are made to stick in place for the long haul.

I love having an ACCESS™ Truck Bed Mat in my pickup. It keeps my gear from sliding around and makes it easy for me to work in the bed when I need to. It’s also so soft I let my daughter crawl around in the back when we’re stopped on a long drive and she needs a break from her car seat.

Hey, it’s never too early to pass along the joy of pickup trucks.

Anyway, if you think an ACCESS™ Truck Bed Mat is right for you, get yours here.

We often get asked how long our roll-up covers will last. That’s a really hard question to answer with any certainty because how long one of our covers — or any tonneau cover, for that matter — will last depends on how well the owner cares for it.

We build our covers to last as long as possible, but it’s up to you how many years of service you get out of your cover. We recommend two steps to help your cover last as long as possible.

Keep it tight, and I mean drum tight. A loose cover will flap about in the wind and wear out prematurely. All ACCESS® Roll-Up Covers have built-in tension adjsuters that let you set the cover’s tightness. Just roll up the cover, add or reduce some tension by turning the dial, and unroll the cover to check the fit and tightness. Repeat and adjust as needed.

Keep the cover clean and use the right cleaner. Ultraviolet rays never take a day off, so we recommend using ACCESS™ Cover Care™ Cleaner to clean and protect your cover.

But here is a case study into how long an ACCESS Roll-Up Cover can last. Take a look at this photo:

This photo was sent to us by John N. in Minnesota in July 2013. Here’s what he had to say:

“I purchased my Access Cover from you in November 1995 for my new 1996 Chevrolet pickup. I wanted to tell you how well your product has held up to the harsh environment here in Minnesota.

“I was a pilot for Northwest Airlines and my truck sat in the employee parking lot for …at least half of every month. It was out in the elements, no covered parking. Also my truck has 160,000 miles on it so your cover took a lot of wind buffeting. After all this time your cover is completely serviceable and still looks good. I replaced the Velcro once.

“This fall I am purchasing a 2014 Chevrolet pickup and the first thing I will do is buy one of your covers for it.”

To install the front mount hitch for the SNOWSPORT® HD Utility Plow, plan about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your level of experience. From there the blade attaches in minutes. Here is a video that details the assembly steps for the HD Utility Plow:

A good question to ask when choosing a tonneau cover is what sort of work will the truck — and especially the bed — be doing? This is important if you ever want to tow a trailer using a 5th-wheel or gooseneck hitch.

All ACCESS® Roll-Up Covers are designed to roll up out of the way whenever you need complete use of your pickup’s bed.

That means that all you have to do is roll the cover to the front of your truck box and secure it with the straps any time you want to hook your pickup to a trailer using a gooseneck or 5th-wheel hitch (assuming you already have that hitch installed).

ACCESS® Roll-Up Covers are built this way so you never need to remove the cover and frame to carry a large load. Just roll the cover up and you’re ready.

And once you’ve reached the campsite and parked the trailer, the cover rolls out flat to protect any cargo from the elements while you’re out getting supplies or exploring. Since you never have to remove the tonneau cover for large loads or towing, covering the bed up again is simple.

We’re often asked how well our tonneau covers handle snow. As we make these products in North Dakota, we know a thing or two about heavy snow. Our covers have been tested under all weather conditions and can endure even heavy mountain region snowfalls.

We also hear from our customers from time to time about how well our products handle extreme weather. Here is a review from Rich Z. of New York, about what happened when his 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 and its ACCESS® Roll-Up Cover got a heavy dose of snow:

In October of 06 we had a freak snow storm in this area. There was about 6 feet of heavy wet snow (not exagerating). My truck looked like it had a bed mount camper. I’m guessing that there must of been 4 tons of wet snow on the cover, my back springs were bottomed out !!!! I was expecting the cover to be torn to shreds and sitting in the truck bed. The cover stood tough and is still going strong 7 years later. I’m giving access a 5 star rating but would easily give it a 10 rating. You will not be disapointed if you purchase this company’s covers. I am in the process of buying a new truck and unfortunately my existing cover won’t fit the new vehicle so I will be ordering a new cover. Thanks for an amazing product !!!

Many truck owners find themselves torn between installing a tonneau cover or a rack for ladders and other long pieces of cargo. But the ADARAC™ Truck Bed Rack System can let them have both.

This adjustable and sturdy rack system is made model specific for the best fit on most Ford, GM, Chevy and Dodge pickup trucks. The ADARAC™ rack sits neatly behind the cab with no obstruction of view, and is capable of carrying a 500 lb. load with ease.

People used to working with other plows often ask us how the SnowSport® Snow Plows can get the job done without any hydraulics or electrical connections to control the plow.

As you push snow, the blade travels up and down as needed by gravity. The rubber cutting edge is designed to cut through the snow but pass over the harder ground surfaces below and be gentle on grass. When you back up, the blade automatically lies back, skimming over the surface. Then you drive forward and the blade re-engages for plowing.